Debt Buyers’ Insufficient Evidence

Debt buyers’ ability to obtain additional documentation from the original creditor is extremely limited: they may purchase the right to request such documentation in a limited number of cases, or they may not have access to any supporting documentation at all. If the debt is resold to another debt buyer, obtaining such documentation becomes even more difficult, as most second and subsequent sales of debt portfolios do not include any direct access to the additional documentation from the original creditor, which means that those debt buyers almost certainly lack the documentation needed to support lawsuits filed against people whose names appear in their portfolios.

When you realize that most debt buyers are filing lawsuits without even the ability to get competent evidence to prove their claims, regulations like the proposed Minnesota bill make more sense. Debt buyers are not special, and they should have to prove their cases like everyone else. Since they are getting away with doing so—regularly, in fact—they should have to meet some basic requirements before they are allowed to take advantage of the courts.

Sam Glover is a lawyer and the founder and Editor in Chief of Lawyerist.com. He also works with lawyers on motion practice and appeals, and is President of the board of directors of HOME Line, a nonprofit Minnesota tenant advocacy organization.